Billionaire investor Carl Icahn quietly outperformed Berkshire Hathaway Inc. during the first quarter.

Icahn Outpaces Buffett In Q1

Performance data tracking billionaire hedge fund portfolios, aggregated by WhaleWisdom, showed Icahn's manager-weighted returns climbed 11.64% during the first quarter, compared with a 4.99% gain for Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Common Stock (NYSE:BRK) (NYSE:BRK).

The rebound placed Icahn among the best-performing billionaire investors of the quarter, ahead of several major hedge fund names.

But the longer-term picture looks dramatically different.